RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday added to debate over when, and whether, his father would return from self-imposed exile in Florida, tweeting that the former president would return next week but deleting the tweet a few minutes later.
“I’m sorry for the previous post, I might be missing him a lot,” Senator Flavio Bolsonaro tweeted, adding the March 15 return date he had posted was “likely but still unconfirmed”.
The tweets added to growing questions about Bolsonaro’s return home, where he faces mounting legal jeopardy related to his conduct during last year’s election, and a growing scandal over an effort to bring into the country over $3 million worth of undeclared jewelry gifted by Saudi Arabia.
Bolsonaro lost the Oct. 30 election to his leftist rival President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. For months ahead of the vote, he had cast baseless doubts on the electoral system, creating a potent force of election deniers who on Jan. 8 invaded government buildings in Brasilia.
Bolsonaro flew to Florida shortly before his term ended, and has been there ever since, gladhanding local supporters, eating at fast food restaurants and, more recently, addressing conservative get-togethers.
Speaking on Saturday at the U.S. CPAC conservative conference, Bolsonaro said his mission was “still not over,” indicating he could be planning a presidential run in 2026.
Last month, in a Wall Street Journal interview, Bolsonaro said he would return to Brazil in March to lead the political opposition and defend himself against accusations that he instigated the Jan. 8 riots.
However, the former president has been unwilling to put a firm date on his return. After entering the United States on a so-called A-1 visa, which are reserved for heads of state, diplomats and other government officials, he then applied for a six-month tourist visa.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Chizu Nomiyama)
